Piastri wins excellent Azerbaijan F1 GP as Norris eats into Verstappen’s title lead

Oscar Piastri received the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with an distinctive drive for McLaren after an enormously tense battle to the flag with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in Baku. Lando Norris made an excellent and unlikely comeback drive to take fourth having began in fifteenth to maintain his title hopes alive, ending in entrance of title rival Max Verstappen who was fifth.

George Russell was fourth for Mercedes after a late crash between Crimson Bull’s Sergio Pérez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz eradicated each drivers. Lewis Hamilton was in ninth having began in the back of the grid with an engine penalty.

Leclerc had led the opening section of the race from pole however within the wake of the one pit stops Piastri took the lead, after which the pair vied to the end in an impossibly tense battle, each drivers at their finest, threading the needle nostril to tail for nearly 30 laps on the streets of Baku.

“That was most likely probably the most demanding weekend of my life,” Piastri mentioned “What a race.” For Norris, ranging from fifteenth after being caught out by a yellow flag in qualifying, the race was anticipated to be a case of harm limitation. But he and McLaren did an distinctive job to come back via the sphere and beat his title rival.

The British driver took three factors from the Dutchman and now trails by 59 factors with seven conferences remaining, whereas McLaren have now taken the lead from Crimson Bull within the constructors’ championship.

The victory makes it two in 5 races, alongside two second locations for Piastri, who took his debut F1 win at Hungary in July. The potential use of crew orders to favour Norris had dominated the construct as much as the weekend however with the British driver beginning in fifteenth it was notable that Norris performed a pivotal position in aiding Piastri when he held up Pérez to Piasrti’s benefit within the wake of the pit stops.

Leclerc held his lead on the quick sprint to show one whereas Norris started his cost, making up two locations from the begin to thirteenth. Leclerc started to consolidate and by lap 9 put the hammer down, delivering a sequence of quickest laps and opening up a two-second lead. Verstappen complained of a lap of grip on lap 11, the primary of what have been a sequence of points he informed the crew he confronted with the automotive.

Crimson Bull pitted him on lap 13 as Pérez went for the undercut a lap later with Piastri and Leclerc staying out. Pérez emerged behind Norris and McLaren with no little irony, given the crew’s consideration of crew orders in Norris’s favour earlier within the week, requested the British driver to carry up Pérez. Piastri got here in on lap 16 and emerged simply in entrance of the Mexican with Norris’s efforts proving decisive.

Leclerc pitted on lap 17 and Sainz a lap later and because the stops shook out Piastri had made the most important achieve. Leclerc had a sluggish cease and a sluggish out lap, he had maintained his lead however by solely simply, beneath a second from the Australian and a lap later with DRS, Piastri plunged up the within of flip one to take the lead on lap 20. Leclerc tried to come back again however Piastri had sufficient to carry him off via flip two.

Piastri, Norris and Pérez remained line astern on the midway level, solely a second between them however because the tyres got here to Leclerc he was in a position to assault, the pair vied into flip one on lap 29 as Piastri simply held the place. The 2 drivers have been pushing each other exhausting with nothing in it and Piastri repeatedly needed to defend into one.

On lap 33 the pair went wheel to wheel as soon as extra via one and two, Leclerc ducking throughout the monitor to attempt to discover a approach via however with out fairly sufficient to place his nostril forward as Piastri defended with nice talent.

There remained nothing in it for the entrance two as McLaren lastly pitted Norris on lap 38 and he emerged in seventh, 15 seconds behind Verstappen in sixth. The crew believed he may catch Verstappen on recent rubber, though it was an enormous ask with 13 laps left.

Nostril to tail Piastri and Leclerc have been locked of their battle for lap after lap, turns one and two their area every time however the place Piastri executed completely each time to carry the lead, regardless of intense stress from the Monegasque driver.

Norris was inside 9 seconds of Verstappen with eight laps remaining and pushing exhausting by lap 49 he swept previous the Dutchman for a outstanding and unlikely return.

On the entrance, attempt as he may, there was no approach via for Leclerc, whose efforts had punished his tyres. Pérez got here at him and because the pair vied on the penultimate lap Sainz slipped previous the Mexican and he and Pérez hit each other on the again straight, with each automobiles within the wall however the drivers unharmed and the digital security automotive was deployed, beneath which Piastri took a deserved win.

Fernando Alonso was sixth for Aston Martin, Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto seventh and eighth for Williams, with Oliver Bearman tenth for Haas.